Maybe Just Not That One Dance
by TruthCannotAlwaysBeHidden
Summary: It's now 10 years after the war has ended. Draco takes his little princess, Sadie, to her first dance lesson. When they reach there, Draco is surprised to find out that the new teacher his cousin had been talking about was none other than Hermione Granger. Maybe it won't be just that One Dance... AN: This is a sequel to One Dance. Seeing as many people wanted more of this story :)
1. Confessions

Draco Malfoy pulled along his little princess, Sadie, to her first dance class. He knew his daughter would love it as much as he had when he was young.

"Daddy, did you used to go to the same place for your dance class?" Sadie asked.

"Yes, and I enjoyed it very much. I know you'll love it just as much as I did, my little princess." Draco smiled warmly at his daughter.

"Is Aunty Hillary going to teach me, too? Like she did for at home last time she came?" she asked hopefully.

"No, I'm afraid not, princess. Aunty Hillary had to move to Sweden with her husband, so there will be a new dance teacher. Aunty Hillary said that this new dance teacher is very nice and very good at dancing, just like her. Aunty Hillary knew her for a long time." Draco said.

"Oh, I can't wait, daddy! Are we there yet?" Sadie asked excitedly.

"Yes, we are. Come on, let's get inside." Draco led his daughter inside Hillary's Dance Academy.

"Alright class, get into your ballet shoes." A familiar voice instructed the young children.

"Ahem." Draco said, trying to draw the teacher's attention. She turned around to see who it was.

She was surprised. Draco Malfoy? What was he doing here? She thought. Then, she noticed a hint of blonde behind his tall figure. She walked towards them and crouched to the level of the little girl, Draco Malfoy completely forgotten.

"Hello. I'm Hermione. What's your name?" Hermione held out her hand for the little girl to take. Sadie took it hesitantly.

"Sadie." She said quietly. She had been excited about her first dance lessons, but she was still not good when it came to meeting new people.

"Hi, Sadie. Is this your first day for dance class?" Hermione asked. The girl nodded. "Well, come on then. We'll be doing ballet today. Do you have your ballet shoes?" the girl nodded again, taking Hermione's offered hand.

"Are you going to be okay, Sade?" Draco asked. She responded with a tight embrace. "That's my girl. You have fun now. I'll see you at 3 o'clock. Okay?" Draco said.

"Okay, daddy. Bye." She called her dad to kneel down. When he did, she gave him a peck on the cheek. Draco returned it and hugged his princess for one last time before exiting the building.

"Come on, honey. Get into your shoes and then we can get started. Okay?" Hermione smiled sweetly, and went to the front of the classroom.

Noticing everyone ready to get on with class, Hermione cleared her throat and begun. "Alright. As you all know, we'll be doing ballet today. So, can anyone tell me what is or how to do a plie?" Hermione asked. None of the children raised their hands, except one. "Yes, Sadie. Can you show the class how to do a plie?" she asked.

Sadie got into the first position. She placed her legs together, her toes pointing outwards to the sides. She bent down, her knees to the sides and her arms out in a circle. She then came back up to her first position.

Hermione smiled. "Yes, very good, Sadie." She turned to the rest of the class. "Everybody, do the same. Put your feet together, with toes pointing outwards to the sides, your arms should be in front of you, forming a circle. When you've got into that position, bend down slowly until you make a rough circle with your legs. Then come back up. Continue doing this. Alright, you can all start now." Hermione instructed.

The young children begun their attempts of the plie and it seemed to be working out very well for most of the class, some were still struggling, but Hermione could see that Sadie was helping them out. She saw that a small boy, whose name was, if she remembered right, Jason, struggling to form a circle with his legs.

"Hey." Sadie whispered. The boy turned his attention to her. "Look, do it like this. And do it slowly." She showed him and the boy copied exactly what she did. Finally, he was able to do a good plie. She could become a teacher one day, Hermione thought.

She went back to the front of the classroom once again. "Well done, little ones. That was great. Now, we're going to get on our tip toes and try to walk around the room. Can all of you do that?" Hermione said. The class got to it straight away. Hermione noticed again, Sadie was having no trouble at all with this instruction. In her opinion, Sadie didn't need this dance class at all. She was already good.

Draco looked at the clock on the wall in his room. It was 2:55pm. He should get ready to pick up his daughter. He put his jacket on and headed outside so that he could apparate to Diagon Alley.

He was quite surprised to see that the new dance teacher that his cousin Hillary was talking about was Hermione Granger, but he guessed he could see why she was given the job. She was an amazing dancer. He remembered the day of the Yule Ball. They had dance the jive together and she was really good.

That was also the day when he had begun to have second thoughts about that bookworm, know-it-all. There was more to her than people believed. She had caused his heart to thump out of his chest. He could remember the sweet rose perfume she had worn that day.

That day was the day when he, Draco Malfoy, realised that he might certainly have fallen for Hermione granger, but he could never confess to her since she already had someone, Ronald Weasley, that good for nothing idiot she had fallen in love with since third year.

He knew he didn't deserve her, she couldn't be his and he knew that, after all that he did to her at Hogwarts, she would never forgive him for all that, though it wasn't his fault. He would never had insulted Hermione so much if it hadn't been for his father, convincing him that only Purebloods were superior, and that the muggleborn should be treated as dirt. He hated his father for ruining not only his life, but also his mother's. He would never forgive him for what he had done to them. But now, Lucius was in Azkaban for good, and he and his mother could finally have their freedom from his dictatorship. Draco and Narcissa never had believed in his Pureblood beliefs, they had to or they feared he would harm them again, but now, that was all over.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that he had reached his destination, until he slammed into the door of the classroom his daughter was in. He stumbled back and rubbed his temple, before entering the room.

He heard laughter echoing in the room and looked up to see that the entire class was laughing at his little stumble, even Hermione. He couldn't help but smile himself. Her laughter was so infectious for him. Then, he started to chuckle.

When they finally stopped, Hermione spoke up. "That will be all, class. I hope you have all had as much fun as I did." Hermione smiled at the little ones. The class scattered and started to change into their normal shoes.

Sadie ran up to her father's arms, who lifted her up and kissed her cheek. "You had fun, my princess?" Draco asked.

"Yes, daddy! It was really fun! Ms. Hermione is very nice, too!" she beamed.

"I'm glad you liked it, sweetie." Hermione said as she came up to them. "You must tell me where you learnt how to do the plie."

"Aunty Hillary thought it to me." Sadie said with pride.

"Oh, that explains it all. You must be her niece. She talks about you a lot to me." Hermione said.

"Really? What did she say?" Sadie asked eager to know.

"She told me that you loved sweets." Hermione pulled put a sweet from behind Sadie's ear and gave it to her. Sadie was in astonishment and took the sweet Hermione offered to her.

"How did you do that?!" Sadie asked.

"Magic." Hermione simple said. She turned to Draco, who seemed to be staring at her. She looked away, blushing. Then, making sure the redness on her cheeks had subsided, she spoke. "She's a very talented girl. And to be honest, I don't think she needs this class. She looks like she knows it all, considering that Hillary had taught her." Hermione complimented.

"Hillary only thought her the basics of a few dance styles, but thank you." Draco said.

"Oh, aright then. I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow. We'll be doing tap dancing. She will need her tap shoes tomorrow. Make sure you bring them." Hermione said.

"I will. Thank you. And um...sorry." Draco added.

"For what?" Hermione asked confused.

"For all those years at Hogwarts. I was so cruel to you, with the name calling and other insults. I never meant to do all those things to you." Draco said truthfully.

Hermione was surprised, but she understood why he had acted the way that he had. "It's fine, Draco. It was not your fault, you were forced to follow those beliefs, you hadn't done those things voluntarily." Hermione assured.

"But I could have stopped it. I could have, but I didn't, and I'm sorry for that." Draco insisted.

"Really, it's okay. If you had tried to stop this, your father would have gotten angry with you and might have hurt you and-" Hermione stopped. Maybe she shouldn't have said that about his father. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way." She apologised.

"No...You're right. He would have hurt me, and...He did..." Draco said quietly.

Hermione placed her hand on her mouth, shocked to hear that his father would hit his own son. "If I ever did something wrong, he would beat me with his cane, until he believed it to be enough." Draco confessed. Sadie hugged her dad, letting tiny tears fall on her cheeks. Draco hugged her back, and stroked her hair to calm her down.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea." Hermione said.

"Don't be." He shook his head. "Well, we should be heading home now. Mother's probably wondering why we're taking so long. I'll um see you tomorrow." Draco nodded curtly.

"Bye, bye sweetie." Hermione said and kissed her on the cheek. Sadie smiled with her tears still filled with tears. Hermione wiped her tears away. "Don't cry, darling. It's alright now." Hermione assured. Sadie nodded and kissed Hermione back on her cheek. She waved goodbye to Hermione as Draco took her away. Draco looked back once and smiled genuinely. A smile that said, 'thank you for understanding'. Hermione smiled back and watched as they left through the door.

The other parent then started to flood in, taking their children and left. Soon, the dance room was empty, with only Hermione inside. Hermione gathered her belongings and left the building, after locking the door securely behind her.

"She's pretty." Sadie said, out of the blue.

"Who, princess?" Draco asked.

"Ms. Hermione." Sadie said. Draco smiled. He couldn't argue with that. She was beautiful.

"Daddy?" Sadie's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Do you like her?" she asked.

"Um...yes, princess. I do." Draco admitted. He couldn't really lie to his daughter, she knew him to well, and she could detect a lie from him a mile away. He was surprised that she could tell that he liked Hermione, though.

"Then ask her out on a date! What are you waiting for?" Sadie cried.

"But, darling, I think she has a husband." Draco sighed, believing that Hermione had gotten married to the weasel.

"Oh." And she left it at that. She was disappointed to hear that. She had really thought that her dad could finally be happy after her mother abandoned them for someone else.

Wait. He said that he thinks Ms. Hermione has a husband. She might not. Sadie smirked inwardly. She couldn't wait to get started on her matchmaking.


	2. Betrayal

Today was the day.

Today Sadie will find out if her dance teacher was married or not. If not, then great! She could get started on getting her dad and Hermione close, but if she was married, then...she sighed. She really didn't want to find another life partner for her dad, because she knew that Hermione was the only person that could bring happiness back into his life.

"Sadie! Are you ready to go to your dance class?" Draco called from the staircase.

"I'm coming dad!" she replied back. She put her tap shoes inside her bag and exited her bedroom, with a gleaming smile on her face. She was going to stay hopeful.

"What are you smiling about?" Draco asked suspicious.

"Nothing!" Sadie said quickly and put on a straight face. Draco narraowed his eyes at her, but chose to let it be. Probably nothing. He offered his hand to his daughter, who obliged. The two of them side along apparated to Diagon Alley.

They finally reached the building of Hillary's Dance Academy and entered. There did not seem to be many present yet. Sadie pulled Draco to a bench in the classroom so they could sit down. She put her tap shoes on and just waited for the other students to pile in so they could get started.

"Will you be alright, Sade, or do you want me to stay for a while?" Draco asked, not making any contact with her. Sadie noticed that his attention was elsewhere. She followed his gaze and it headed towards her dance teacher, Ms. Hermione. Sadie smiled, but she needed her dad to leave, so that she could ask Ms. Hermione her question.

"No, it's okay dad. You can leave. I'll be alright." Sadie said. Draco seemed to be slightly disappointed at that answer, probably because he wouldn't be able to see Ms. Hermione, but she pretty sure that the other students had started noticing that her dad was staring at their teacher, and possibly thinking that he's weird.

"Well, alright. See you, princess." Draco kissed her cheek and exited the classroom.

"Now, it's time." Sadie walked across to her dance teacher. She tapped her shoulder to get her attention. Hermione turned around and smiled.

"Yes, Sadie. Is there anything you want?" Hermione asked. Sadie needed to think how to get the answer from her without actually asking her that particular question.

"Um...what's your second name, Miss?" Sadie asked.

Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why do you need to know second name, sweety?" Hermione asked sweetly.

"I uh it's uh for my friend...her parents want to know your full name because they wanted to apply her for this dance class." Sadie lied. Honestly, her best friend didn't like dance at all, but she needed some kind of excuse.

"Oh. Okay. It's Hermione Jean Granger Weasley." Hermione replied.

"Is it Ms or Mrs?"

"It's Mrs, honey." Hermione said. Sadie frowned. This was not what she wanted to hear. She was hoping that she would say that so badly. She sighed and thanked Hermione.

"Is that all sweety?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, miss." Hermione nodded and went to the front od the classroom.

"Wonderful. Let's get started, shall we?" Hermione said. "Alright, so first of all we are going to shuffle out feet. Like this." Hermione showed them the move by lifting her one foot up backwards and then sliding it down on the hard, furnished floor, the toe section first, then the sole, and then going up from the front, which made a tap sound. She then placed the foot back on the floor, causing another tap sound. "Now, let's see you all do this." Hermione looked at the children, urging them to start.

There were scattered taps echoed around the room. They looked up at Hermione, expectant. "That's good. Now do that again a few more times, this time with both feet. Your right foot first, then your left." She instructed them. They got to it right away. Hermione moved from the front and glided around the room, making sure everyone was doing well with the instruction she had given them. To no surprise, Sadie was doing incredibly well. Hermione could see that her simple instruction was being followed well.

She retired to the front of the class and commenced on giving more instructions. She tapped her toe section twice on the hard floor, and then pulled it back, shuffling backwards, positioning the bent part of her leg up, forming an 'L' shape. Next, she shuffled her foot forwards, rotating her leg back to the first position. The class attempted this instruction, but quite a few of them struggled as it was slightly difficult than the first step they were given. Even Sadie was struggling a bit. Hermione decided to show the dance step to the class again.

"So first, start off with the tip of your foot, tap it against the floor two times." All the children got into the same position Hermione was in. "One. Two." She tapped her toe. Everyone copied. "Then, tap the sole, the heel of your shoes by placing it on the floor." The children imitated again. "Next, slide your foot backwards, and then up, forming an 'L' shape at the back when you bend your knee." They copied this movement. "Then, you place your foot back down by sliding your foot forwards. And finally, rotate your bent knee backwards, back to having your feet together." She instructed. The children imitated as instructed one more time, all of them in sync with their taps.

Hermione was proud they were doing so well with her instructions.

"Well done, everyone! That was really good!" Hermione praised. She received many smiles back. "Are you ready for the next step?" Hermione asked. They all nodded. "Okay, so..."

"Alright, class, I think that's all for today. Next week, we will be doing street dancing, so wear appropriate clothes and your trainers. For now, goodbye. Have a great week." Hermionne said and allowed the class to go to their bags and change their shoes.

Draco made sure that this time he paid attention on where he was going, considering that he stumbled last time against the door. That was embarrassing. He swung the door open and entered.

The door was heard being swung open. Hermione turned to see who it was and saw Draco.

He noticed she was wearing a plain white and black rehearsal dress. Something so simple made her look so beautiful, Draco thought.

She looked at him weirdly. Why was he looking at her like that?

Draco smiled at her, to which she smiled back, awkwardly.

Sadie looked at her dad, who was smiling at Hermione. she frowned, remembering that she was married. She just wished that she wasn't. She sighed and after changing back to her normal shoes, went to her father. She pulled the end of his shirt to get his attention. Draco looked down at her and smiled. "Hi, princess. How was tap dancing?"Draco asked.

"It was great." She said, not very happily.

"You don't sound like you enjoyed it. Is everything alright, Sade?" he asked worried.

"I'm fine, dad. It's nothing." She lied.

Draco knew his daughter. Something was bothering her, but he let it go, just this once. "Shall we go?" he asked. Sadie nodded. She took her father's offered hand and allowed him to lead the way out of the building.

Hermione got ready quickly to exit the building, as she couldn't wait to see what her husband had in store for their 9th wedding anniversary. She hurriedly locked the entrance to the building. Checking that the lock was secure, she apparated to the entrance of her house.

She excitedly opened the door and entered inside. There was darkness everywhere.

"Ron, are you there?" Hermione called out into the darkness.

Suddenly, a hand covered Hermione's eyes. Another hand then snaked around Hermione's waist. The hand led Hermione to a different room, it was lit by numerous candles, placed everywhere around the room. The hand over Hermione's eyes lifted off to reveal her surprise.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Lav!" a voice said behind her. Hermione's eyes widened. She turned around, with a feeling of hurt. Ron's eyes widened.

"Hermione! I- I can explain. I-"

"You what, Ron?" Hermione demanded. "How could you?!" Hermione cried, tears now escaping. Ron came towards her, and tried to snake her arms around her, but she pushed him back. "Get away from me! I loved you, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. She ran towards the door and exited out into the outpour.

Ron felt his phone vibrating. He picked it up and answered. "Hello?"

"Won-Won, I'm so sorry. My husband wouldn't let me leave. I'm on my way." Lavender's voice rang out from the other end.

"What?! You're married!? You never told me that!" Ron exclaimed, shocked by this.

"Oh, did I say husband, I meant uh..." she trailed off, not able to conjure up a good lie.

"Save it. We're done." Ron said and disconnected the phone. "I let Hermione go because of that slut." Ron ran his fingers through his hair.

"What am I going to do?"

Hermione's hair was in her face. She placed it behind her ear and continued walking, not really knowing where she was going. She let her feet take her, unable to control them due to her heartbreak. The rain was pouring even harder, but Hermione walked on, though her feet were giving out on her. She started to feel like the world was spinning around her, and collapsed to the ground, in the middle of a road, which she had no idea of. She heard a car screech to a halt, then experienced nothing but blackness.


	3. Memories

"Granger? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Draco called through the rain. What was she doing in the middle of the road? He went closer and saw that she was unconscious. He picked her up and put her in the back of his car. He went to the driver's seat and drove to the Malfoy Manor, checking once in a while in the centre mirror, to see if Hermione was alright.

"Sadie, how was dance class?" Narcissa asked her granddaughter.

"It was fun, grandma." Sadie sighed.

"Honey, what's wrong? You seemed sad ever since you got back." Narcissa asked, sounding just as worried as Draco.

Sadie thought about it. Maybe her grandma could help her find a good companion for her dad. She looked around, hoping that her dad was not at home. "Is dad at home?" she asked Narcissa.

"No, he's out." Narcissa replied. "Why?"

"I'm worried about him. I don't like seeing him so alone, grandma. Then, on the first day of dance class, I saw Ms. Hermione. Dad told her what granddad used to do to you and him that he used to hit you with his cane. He would never tell that anyone, but he told Ms. Hermione. And then, he even apologised to her for being so mean at school. He would never say that to anyone, not even Uncle Blaise, or Aunty Pansy. I thought that Ms. Hermione would be the person to bring happiness back to daddy, but then, I found out that she's married, and so, she can't be with dad. Now, I don't know where to find someone else for him because he sure wouldn't find a partner for himself. Can you help me, grandma?" she asked hopeful.

"Of course, my dear. But it's going to be difficult. You know, I had always thought that Hermione would be good for him, but I guess now, that can't happen." Narcissa sighed.

"Don't worry, we will eventually find the right companion for our Draco." Narcissa assured her. Sadie clasped her grandmother into an embrace. Narcissa hugged back.

Just then, Draco arrived with Hermione in his arms, still unconscious.

"What happened?" Narcissa asked.

"I don't know, mother, but she's drenched head to toe from the rain. I don't know how long she has been outside." Draco frowned.

"Put her down, dear. I'll check her temperature." Narcissa told him. Draco put Hermione on the sofa. He was about to sit on the armchair when he felt something tugging onto his shirt. He looked to see that Hermione had gripped tightly onto his shirt and was not letting go. Draco attempted to unfold her hand, so that he could be free from her grasp, not that he didn't like this.

After a few tries, her grip loosened and she let go. Draco sat down in the armchair, next to the sofa, and waited for his mother to check her temperature.

Narcissa smiled at Draco, who just blushed.

She chuckled and placed her hand on Hermione's forehead. She frowned.

"She has a high temperature. We need to get her cooled down, immediately." Narcissa said. She conjured up a small blue vial, a white towel, neatly folded into a rectangle, and a bowl of cool water. She placed the things on the table, then took the small vial and pours all its contents into Hermione's mouth. She got the white towel and dipped it into water, and then squeezed it to remove the excess water. She placed it on Hermione's forehead and left it there. She then turned to Draco.

"I have given her some potion. With the towel, it needs to be dipped into the cool water every ten minutes, so keep doing it until her temperature resides. You can check that placing the back of your hand on her forehead, if she's still hot then continue with the water and towel, but if it's not too hot, then just wait for her to come back to consciousness." Narcissa instructed.

"I'm guessing you'll do that yourself, to do you want me to call Glacy?"

"It's alright, mother, I'll do it." Draco said.

"Of course, Draco." She smirked. "I am sure you will." She sniggered.

"Mother!" Draco said, but his cheeks were flushing.

"Alright, alright." Narcissa chuckled. "Dinner's ready. Do you want to come to the dining table, or do you want Glacy to bring it in here for you?" she asked.

"Urm..." he glanced at Hermione. "I'll be right there."

"Okay. Oh and you might want to wet the towel again." She smirked and turned to leave.

Draco got right to it. He drenched the towel with the cool water, squeezed the excess water and placed the towel on Hermione's forehead.

"Is Ms. Hermione alright?" Sadie asked, having observed in the background.

"Yes, she will be. Draco's taking good care of her." Narcissa smiled.

"Aw! Daddy likes her so much!" Sadie said excitedly.

"Shh. Daddy will hear." Narcissa warned, but chuckled at her granddaughter's excitement.

"Maybe we won't have to find someone else for daddy anymore." Sadie said.

"Maybe, dear." Narcissa said.

"What's going on here?" Draco asked, coming from the living room.

"Nothing." They said in unison quickly. They looked at each other and laughed. Draco stood there confused as to why they were laughing.

They all had their dinner in silence, with Narcissa and Sadie sharing glanced across the table once in a while.

Hermione woke up slowly, out of her consciousness. She rubbed her eyes, the bright light too intense for her. She then recollected what had happened a few hours ago. Ron had cheated on her. How could he do that to her? She had given him everything, all the love he could ever hope for. Wasn't it enough? Tears finally escaped down her cheeks, refusing to stay back.

She looked at her surroundings and came to the realisation that she was not anywhere recognisable. Where was she? She spotted images perched up on the walls, and walked towards them. Maybe she could find out where she was by the pictures.

The hint of blond hair was becoming closer. She finally was close enough to see who this house belonged to. Draco Malfoy. He must have brought her here. She continued to look at the photos. There was one which showed him, Sadie and Narcissa smiling. They seemed to enjoying themselves; judging from the background, they were at the park. She smiled; they looked so happy. She looked at the next photo. It showed Draco and Sadie next to another woman. She seemed very familiar to her. The jet black hair, the porcelain skin, sea green eyes; this had to be Astoria Greengrass. She didn't seem too happy beside her husband and daughter. She went to the next picture. Astoria had her arms wrapped around a man Hermione couldn't quite pin point. She looked happier with this person than with her husband, who seemed to be standing apart from the two.

"I'll go check up on Hermione." Draco informed and left the table.

He entered the living room and found Hermione looking at the family photos. He walked up to her and saw what she was looking at. He frowned. He hated that photo. Why hadn't he thrown it away?

"That's Theodore Nott, the person who's next to Astoria. They were very close friends." Draco said.

Hermione jumped, startled by his voice. She stumbled back, but Draco's arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her stable. She immediately became lost in his eyes. She could detect but sincerity in them.

Draco stood her up properly. Hermione cleared her throat, flushing red.

"Where's Astoria? If I may ask." Hermione said quietly.

"She uh eloped with Theo." Draco answered.

"Oh." She frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay." Draco smiled weakly. "Are you hungry?"

"Very." Hermione said, placing a hand on her stomach, which grumbled, demanding for food.

"Okay, let's go." He chuckled. "There's plenty of food at the dining table." Draco said. Hermione followed him. What she saw completely left her at awe. There were mounds of food on the table; the table didn't even seem visible below.

"Hi, Ms. Hermione!" Sadie beamed.

"Hi, Sadie." Hermione smiled back. Hermione was unsure if she should sit, but Narcissa insisted.

"Please, sit down. Take whatever you would like." Narcissa said, with a welcoming smile.

Hermione hesitantly sat down and grabbed whatever she could get her hands and started to eat until her stomach was satisfied.

"What happened, dear? Draco told me you were standing on the middle of the road, soaking wet. Is everything alright?" Narcissa asked.

"It's..." Hermione choked on her words, tears now falling down her face again.

"It's alright if you don't want to say anything. I understand." Narcissa said, placing a hand on Hermione's.

"Thank you." Hermione smiled. "Um...I think I'll be leaving now. I will see you on Saturday Sadie." Hermione stood up.

"I don't think that's a good idea. It's raining very heavily outside, Hermione. It could be dangerous, considering that you had a high temperature a few minutes ago." Narcissa insisted.

"It's alright, Mrs Malfoy. I will be apparating to the burrow." Hermione informed.

"Why don't you floo there, Hermione? It will be safer. Please, I insist." Narcissa said.

"Alright." Hermione smiled. "Goodbye, Mrs. Malfoy." She turned to leave.

"Please, call me Narcissa." She smiled. Hermione smiled back and entered the living room.

"Hermione, what happened? Ron just came and asked if you had come here. Is everything alright?" Ginny said.

"He cheated on me, Gin! With Lavender!" Hermione cried.

"What?! Come on." Ginny lead her to where Harry and Ron were.

Ron stood up when he saw Hermione enter. "Hermione, I'm-"

"Save it, Ron. I don't want to hear it." Hermione interrupted.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, brother." Ginny said angrily.

Ron, not wanting to suffer from Ginny's wrath, started talking.

"You still shouldn't have had an affair with her anyways, Ron! You were married, and with the fact, so was she! She's nothing but a lying bitch. Don't you remember at Hogwarts, she had always spoken lies about Hermione! Always! And you went to her?! After all that Hermione did for you?! You idiot!" she shouted at him. She may have been the youngest of the clan, but she was the strictest and the loudest.

"I know, and Hermione, I'm sorry for that. Please, will you forgive me?" Ron asked.

"I'm sorry, Ron, but I can't." Hermione said. "You were married to me, but you still thought it fine to sleep with another woman. How can I forgive you so easily? I trusted you, Ron, but now, you have broken that trust." Hermione cried. Ginny embraced her best friend, comforting her,

"But I-"

"It's best if you leave, mate." Harry suggested.

"But Harry, I didn't know she was married! I swear! Hermione please! I want to make it up to you!" Ron cried while being ushered out of The Burrow.

"Then, just...just stay away from me." Hermione said.

"Hermione! Please! I'm sorry!" Ron was ousted of the house.

Harry closed the door behind him and went back to his wife and best friend.

"Where had you gone then, 'Mione? When you left the apartment?" Ginny asked.

Hermione explained how Draco had found her unconscious on the road and taken her to the Manor. How he helped her with her temperature. Even that Astoria had eloped with Theodore Nott, leaving Sadie in the hands of Draco.

"Well, thank goodness you're alright." Harry said.

"Poor guy. I mean, he had been nothing but a selfish git at Hogwarts, but still, he didn't deserve to be betrayed like that." Ginny said.

"To be honest, I thought Astoria loved him. I mean, it was evident at Hogwarts anyways." Hermione remembered.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to ask you. How's the dance class going?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, great. That's how I had first seen Draco. He had brought Sadie for dance lessons." Hermione said.

"Well, at least it's going good." Harry said.

"Hey guys, you don't mind me staying here for a few day until I find my own place, do you?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course you can stay, 'Mione." Ginny said. "You're always welcome at The Burrow."

"Where's James, Albus and Rose?" Hermione asked, not seeing any sign of them.

"They went to sleep over at Lygar's" Ginny said.

"How are they? It's just a few days until they leave for Hogwarts, isn't it?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, they're leaving on Friday." Harry replied.

They all then parted to their bedrooms and went to sleep.

"Goodnight, daddy." Sadie said.

"Goodnight, princess." Draco kissed his daughter on the forehead and left, switching off the light behind him.

Getting to bed, he hoped that Hermione was alright. He wondered why she had been standing on the middle of the road, soaking wet. He was going to find out. In one way or another. She seemed really upset and he was going to find out why. Whatever or whoever had hurt her was going to regret ever breaking her heart.


	4. Waltz

Hermione stretched her arms out and yawned. She looked at the wall clock. Shoot! It was 10 o'clock! She was going to be late for the dance class! She abruptly rolled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and had her shower. She came out wearing a towel and rushed towards the drawers. She rummaged for her clothes and put them on hastily.

She glanced at the clock again. It was now 10:15am. She had fifteen minutes to get to the academy. She bolted downstairs.

"Morning, dear." Molly greeted.

"Morning, Molly." Hermione said. She turned to leave.

"Hermione, you're not going anywhere until you have some breakfast. Sit down." Molly demanded.

Hermione obeyed and grabbed a piece of toast and started to eat as quickly as she could. She checked her wrist watch. 10:20, just ten minutes left. She quickly drank her orange juice and bolted outside.

The light sneaked through the curtains, hitting Sadie's eyes. She squeezed them and put her duvet over them, blocking the sunlight.

Draco opened the curtains, letting the sunshine in. He looked at his daughter and smiled. He chuckled and went towards the side of the bed. He shook her.

"Sadie, wake up." Draco said.

"Five more minutes." Sadie muffled.

"Come on. Don't you want to visit Stella and Orion?" Draco asked. Sadie immediately shot up.

"Is that today?" she beamed.

"Yes, but if you don't get ready quickly, then you won't get to go..." Draco said.

"No! No. I'm only gonna take a few minutes! I will be right down." Sadie said and dashed to the bathroom for a shower.

Draco chuckled lightly and headed downstairs to prepare breakfast.

"Good morning, dear." Narcissa greeted.

"Good morning, mother." Draco kissed her on the cheek and commenced making himself and his family some breakfast.

Draco, you don't need to do this. Glacy is here to do it." Narcissa insisted.

"Mother, it's fine. Glacy has work to do already; I don't want to burden her with more." Draco said.

"Alright, alright, I don't want another lecture about the welfare of house elves. I've already here it about a million times and I think I may remember the whole thing. It's quite disturbing." Narcissa said and smiled. She knew why he was acting like so towards the house elves – Hermione. He knows that she hated the mistreatment of house elves and know that he should start appreciating the work they do for their masters. But she was glad because she could e that Draco wanted to change for the better.

Draco handed his mother a plate of pancakes, with golden syrup coated on top.

"Thank you." Narcissa started to eat and immediately felt like she was in heaven. She still didn't understand how he could cook so well, considering that he only had a few lessons.

"Daddy, I'm ready. Can we go?" Sadie asked impatiently.

"Not yet, princess. You haven't had your breakfast. Come on, I've made your favourite." Draco smiled.

"Pancakes? Oh, daddy, you're the best!" Sadie beamed and sat down, eating away as many pancakes she could digest.

Hermione entered the academy and placed her belongings on the side.

"Good morning everyone." Hermione greeted. They all said their good mornings. Today, Hermione was teaching the teenagers.

"Let's get right to it, then, shall we?" Hermione showed them the first step to the waltz. They all got into pairs.

"Alright, first, both of you are going to step forwards with your left foot and then with your right foot. Both of your feet should be together now." Hermione checked each pair and saw that all of them had their feet together.

"Next, you are going to go backwards, with your right foot first, and then your left, until your feet are together again." Hermione instructed them again. The pairs obliged.

"Now, do this simple step continuously. Remember, boys, your back has to be straight and your hands holding your partner's hand firmly. Girls, your head should be thrown slightly backwards, held high. Your back is curved, so you are slightly leaning back, and your hands are placed firmly inside your partner's hand and on their shoulder. Got it?" Hermione said. They all nodded and started practising the step given.

"Miranda, slowly, the waltz is slow. You don't need to rush. Alright?" Hermione assured. The blonde haired girl nodded and did the step slowly with her partner, this time getting it correct.

All the pairs seemed to be doing the dance step correctly and so decided to give them the next move.

"Now, girls, I want you to do a spin. So, tom, can you come over here for a second, please?" Hermione called him. He nervously walked towards Hermione. Hermione smiled at him and took his hand. She placed it on her waist, which made tom blushed. She put her hand on his left shoulder and the other in his right hand.

"Okay, so, we'll just do the first step four times." Hermione nodded to let him lead. They stepped forwards and then backwards, and then did it again."Now, you are going to put your left hand on your back. Boys, you will do likewise. You are going to spin me around, so for that, you are gonna go into this position." Hermione placed their intertwined hands above them, just their fingertips touching.

"Tom, now rotate your wrist, girls, this is where you will spin three times." Hermione showed them by spinning three times while Tom rotated his wrist.

"Boys, you will be moving. So, Tom, put your left foot forwards, then your right foot, bringing them together. Do this two more times. While you do that for each time I will spin once. Girls, you will do this." Hermione nodded at Tom to go ahead with the step. He stepped forwards and she spun around, then he stepped backwards, she spun again, and he stepped forwards and she spun one more time.

"Boys, you can step back once more, with the girls doing the same. So, like this." She stepped backwards with her left and then her right and then stopped.

"Everybody, got that?" Hermione asked. They all nodded and did what Hermione showed them in front of the classroom. "Thank you, Tom." He went back to his partner.

She observed all the pairs and saw that they had no trouble with following her instruction.

"Draco, mate! How are you?" Blaise asked, giving his best friend a man hug as they like to call it.

"Alright. Sadie's really excited to see Orion and Stella. How's Pans?" Draco asked.

"Oh, she's fine. She's gone out right now, but she'll be back in half an hour or so. Come in." Blaise allowed them entrance.

"Hi, uncle Blaise." Sadie ran up to the ebony skinned man. He lifted her up in his arms.

"How's my favourite niece doing?" Blaise asked, messing up her hair. Sadie straightened out her hair with an annoyed expression on her face. She hated having her hair messed up, a trait she inherited from her dad.

He put her back down after they entered the house.

"Orion and Stella are right upstairs. Go ahead." Blaise said. Sadie didn't waste one moment and rushed upstairs.

"She sure missed them." Blaise chuckled.

"Yeah, she kept on asking me when she was coming over to meet them." Draco smiled.

"So, how are Sadie's dance lessons going? I heard that Granger is the new dance teacher." Blaise said.

"Yeah, she is very good. The job fits her perfectly." Draco said.

"Yeah, I can see how." Blaise smirked.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Draco asked, averting his eyes away from Blaise's.

"Oh, come on, man, it doesn't take a genius to figure that you have a thing for Granger." Blaise said.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Seriously, Draco, you like Granger, don't you?" Blaise asked.

"No, I don't." He said quickly, his eyes still not making contact with Blaise's.

"Oh, okay then. You know Theo's back, and he's looking for a sexy brunette." Then he pretended to realise something. "Hey, Granger's a brunette. She's sexy. I should definitely tell Theo. I'm sure he'll love to ask her out for dinner and-"

"What?! No!" Draco blurted out. He quickly put his hand on his mouth to shut himself up.

"Why? I think that's a great idea! Let me just call him over." Blaise reached for the telephone on the table beside the sofa and was about to pick it up when Draco snatched it off him.

"Draco, what do you think you're doing?" Blaise asked smirking.

"Fine! I like Granger! I like her! Happy?" he admitted. Blaise just laughed at him. Draco looked at him confused as to what was going on.

"I was just playing with you, mate." He said still laughing.

"What...So, Theo's not back?" Draco asked confused.

"No, you idiot. I just said that to get you to admit that you like Granger." Blaise was surprised at his best friend's stupidity. The lovesick dimwit, Blaise thought.

"So..." Blaise began.

"So what?" Draco asked.

"So what are gonna do about it?" Blaise questioned.

"About what?" Draco asked dumbfounded.

"About Granger! For Merlin's sake!" Blaise cried.

"I can't do anything. I pretty sure she's married to that Weasel." Draco scoffed.

"Wait. Didn't you hear?" blaise asked. Draco gave blaise a confused look. Blaise thought to continue. "Hermione found out about Weasel-bee cheating on her with Brown. She apparently is said to be having a divorce with him." Blaise explained. He handed Draco the latest copy of the Daily Prophet.

Draco read the article about Hermione and Weasley. Now he knew why Hermione had been so upset yesterday. Because of the Weasel. That bastard can't do anything right, he thought. He had the most beautiful girl in his grasp and he just let her slip away for that fake blonde freak, Lavender Brown.

"She's single now, man. Do something about it. Ask her out!" blaise insisted.

"No, Blaise. She just got out of a relationship. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be in another one right now." Draco reasoned.

"Fine, then at least try to become friends with her or something."

"I'll think about it." Draco said.

"I'm sure you will." Blaise smirked.

"I'll see you all on Wednesday, guys. Bye!" Hermione said and allowed the students to depart.

She picked up the Daily Prophet and read the article about her and Ron.

It has been heard that Hermione Granger, the brains of the trio, had caught her husband, being none other than Ron Weasley, cheating on her with his ex, Lavender Finnigan, the wife of Seamus Finnigan. This affair has affected Hermione and Seamus greatly and we all give our condolences to the both of you. As for Mr Ron Weasley and Mrs Lavender Finnigan, we can only hope that they repent their mistake and apologise to their partners.

How do they even find out about this stuff?

And then, it goes on talking about how she found out about him cheating and that she wants divorce. She appreciated the fact that people were supporting her and Seamus, but they had no right to raid their personal problems.

She felt so angry at Ron, though. How he even had thought to betray her like that?

She got up from the bench and switched on the music. It was an Adele song. She started to sway to the beat and was soon dancing to it.

She moved her body fluidly, every movement done with precision. She did a grand jete and then spun on her toes, then did another grand jete, placing both her feet back on the ground. She then spun around the room, on her toes again, her arms out in front of her, forming a circle.

This was what she did. Dance, whenever she felt angry or down. All the emotions were shown in the intricate movements.

Pansy had arrived and started to talk about the holiday her and Blaise are planning for.

"We're thinking of going to Cannes. I've heard the beach there is fantastic. The kids would love it." Pansy said.

"You should definitely go there. It's great, I went there with..." he stopped. He had gone there with Astoria for their honeymoon. He closed eyes, angry at himself for having remembered that day.

"It's okay, Draco." Pansy assured him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Then, an idea popped into her mind.

"Draco, I've got this friend..." Pansy trailed off, with an expectant grin on her face.

"No no no no no no no no no. Don't even think about setting me up another dat. Do you not remember what happened on the last one?" Draco could never forget that one.

"Oh, yeah, how can I forget that? That girl was a total wackadoodle! And the best part was when she-" he noticed Pansy's deadly glare and stopped dead in his words immediately.

"Look Pans, I appreciate you trying to get me a date, but I'm quite capable of getting one on my own, thank you very much." Draco said with pride.

"Well, okay. Fine. We're having a masquerade next Friday. Come up with a date, and then we'll stop pestering you. If you can't find one, then we'll continue to set up dates for you." Pansy challenged.

"Hey! What do you mean by 'we'? I was never a part of this!" blaise cried.

"Do you accept?" Pansy asked, ignoring Blaise completely.

"Fine." Draco said.

"Okay. Well, see you next Saturday." Pansy smiled.

"I will. Goodbye." With that he stood up and turned to leave. He waved goodbye and exited the house.

He walked across Diagon Alley, looking on each side what was happening. He passed the academy and spotted a moving figure inside. He looked through the window, but it was translucent, he could only see a silhouette. He decided to go inside and entered.

He opened the door and peered inside. What he saw put a smile on his face. Hermione. He smiled at the fluidity of her dancing. It was like she was pouring her heart out into the performance.

Hermione spun continuously in circles on her toes, until she was exhausted. She stopped to regain her balance but nearly toppled over if it hadn't been for two strong hands having caught her. She looked up to see who it was. Her eyes locked with his steely grey ones.

Draco wanted to stay like that all day, staring into those chocolate orbs but he forced himself to get Hermione back up.

She cleared her throat and said a short 'Thank you' to Draco before going to the bench to retrieve her belongings. She put the bag around her shoulders and started to make her way to the door, which was opened by a very gentlemanly Draco. She thanked him again whilst blushing slightly.

She headed out of the academy with Draco behind her. As soon as Draco closed the door shut, she locked it with a spell. She then turned towards Draco and smiled weakly.

"Well, uh, bye..." she said.

"Yeah, uh...bye..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled nervously.

They both parted ways and left for their own home when...

"Hermione!" Draco called. She turned around and looked at him confused.

"Yes...?" she asked.

"Um...I..." he stuttered. What the hell is wrong with him?! _Just say it! _

She waited for him to speak.

"Never mind..." he finally said, not having the courage to say it.

"Um...okay." she turned to leave.

"Idiot!" he scolded himself. Then he noticed that people were giving him weird looks, thinking that he was mad or something, so he quickly turned to leave.


	5. Divorce Lawyer

Tuesday – 8am

Draco was woken up by his noisy alarm clock, interrupting his beautiful dream.

He was walking through a forest when he spotted a white light coming from the distance. He walked towards it, curiosity getting the better of him. What he saw was absolute wonder.

There was Hermione, in a white glowing dress, with white wings attached to her back. She was angel. He could see the golden halo above her head. She turned her head towards him and approached him.

He stayed absolutely still and waited for her to come to him. When she was close, she smiled at him, which made his heart leap.

She reached for his hand and slowly intertwined her fingers with his. He couldn't get rid of the gleaming smile on his face. He tightened his hold, which caused her to embrace him. He, hesitant at first, wrapped his arms around her small but beautiful body.

She was so warm. He felt so much comfort in her embrace. He wanted to stay there with her...

But he was awoken by his stupid clock. He got in the shower, getting ready for another day at the Ministry.

Hermione read the Daily Prophet as she ate her breakfast.

"Good morning, 'Mione." Ginny greeted her.

"Good morning, Gin." Hermione smiled.

"Anything interesting in the Daily Prophet?" she asked. Hermione shook her head.

"They're still going on about me and Ron." Hermione replied.

"Don't worry. They'll find something new soon." Ginny assured her. Hermione smiled weakly at her.

"Hey, how about we go shopping today?" Ginny suggested.

"Okay, Gin." Hermione nodded. She placed all the dished in the sink and started to wash them, until Ginny stopped her.

"You don't need to do that, Hermione. You're not the maid in this house." Ginny said.

"No, gin. It's fine." Hermione assured.

"No, Hermione. You're not doing it." Ginny stopped her.

Hermione having given up obliged to her red headed friend.

"Now, go get ready. We have a long day ahead of us." Ginny demanded her.

"Yes, mother." Hermione joked. Ginny chuckled lightly with Hermione.

As soon as Hermione had gotten ready, the two women apparated to Diagon Alley and started to get some shopping done.

They entered a shop called Haledon's. Hermione had to say, it was amazing. There were clothes and accessories of all brands – Gucci, Giovanni, Jane Norman, Chanel, Calvin Clein...

"Hi Ginny." A familiar voice greeted her.

"Hi, Pansy. How's it going?" she asked.

"Alright. It's very busy today. Anyways, what bring you here?" Pansy asked.

"Just wanted to cheer this girl up." Ginny indicated to Hermione.

"I see. Hi, Hermione." Pansy greeted.

"Hi..." Hermione trailed off.

"So, anything in particular you're looking for?" Pansy asked.

"Not really. But if you could recommend anything, then please tell me." Ginny replied.

"I have something in mind." Pansy smiled.

She lead the two witches into the right wing of the shop ad started to personally choose dresses that she believes would make Hermione presentable...and also make someone drool over...

She shoved the handful of colourful dresses in Hermione's hands and pushed her towards the changing room.

Hermione dropped the dress on to the stool present in the changing room. She then wondered when Ginny had gotten on such good terms with Pansy Parkinson, but she would ask that later. First, she had to try these not so comfortable dresses. She reached for the first dress on top of the pile. She stripped herself of her clothing except for her vest and undergarments. She pulled the dress over her head, and to her surprise, it went over her with ease. She straightened the dress out and looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled at her reflection.

While she did that, Pansy and Ginny were in deep conversation about the masquerade Pansy was throwing at the weekend.

"So, you're coming, right?" Pansy asked.

"I'm really sorry, Pansy. I really want to come, but I have training to do for the big game on Sunday, and Harry's going on an assignment this Friday. He said he won't be back for at least a week or so." Ginny apologised.

"No, it's fine. I understand." Pansy glanced towards the changing room which Hermione still had not come out of. "What about Hermione? Is she free?" Pansy asked.

"Um...I really don't know. You'll have to ask her when she comes out." Ginny replied. She just received a nod from Pansy.

The curtains were drawn open, causing Pansy and Ginny to turn their attention towards Hermione. She circled her, thinking on whether or not this dress was a good look on her.

The dress dropped to her knees. It was a midnight blue colour, strapless. Pansy examined the dress worn by Hermione carefully and had finally come to a decision.

"No. This is not the one." Pansy stated.

"Why not? I think this is a great dress." Hermione argued.

"Believe me, Hermione; I know what kind of dresses look good on what person. I know my fashion, and it's telling me that you're making a bad choice with this dress. So, off you go. Try something different." Pansy ushered her back inside the room.

Hermione felt slightly frustrated by this decision. She looked at her reflection, still wearing the dress. She didn't see what was so wrong about the dress. She pulled it over her head and chose another one from the pile.

Hermione not bothered to check in the mirror, exited the changing room. Pansy observed this dress very closely too, careful not to miss out any small detail about it.

This dress was a faded shade of red with a strap around her right shoulder. It hugged her body loosely slightly puffed below her waistline. It had a line of golden sequins at the helm of the dress.

"No. Try another." Pansy ordered her.

Hermione tried yet another dress chosen at random by her hands.

Pansy studied her once again. This time she seemed to look impressed.

This dress was pure white, and strapless. It flowed down to kiss the floor. It had a few large sequins stuck randomly around the part of the dress above her waist.

It was an understatement to say that this dress looked good on Hermione. Pansy admired the prom-like design of the dress and decided to break the good news to the slightly annoyed Hermione.

"Yes. This is the one. This looks perfect on you." Pansy smiled. "What do you think, Ginny?" she asked.

"Hermione, you look beautiful!" Ginny awed.

"Thank you." Hermione blushed. Finally, she had found a dress.

"Would you like to come to my masquerade party on Saturday night?" Pansy asked suddenly.

"Um...okay. It's not like I have anything to do that night anyways. Sure." Hermione answered.

"Great. You should definitely wear this dress then. Wait. Let me just find a mask to go with it." Pansy said. She hurried to the section where masquerade accessories were shown and picked out a black mask with intricate gold marking on it.

She handed it to Hermione. "This should go perfectly with the dress. So, do I take it that you're purchasing this dress? –Oh and the mask is free of charge, by the way." Pansy smiled.

"Thank you, Pansy. I really do love it. Hermione said, thankful for Pansy's help.

"It was my pleasure." She took the dress and removed the tags that were needed and folded it neatly before putting it into a bag along with the mask.

"Have a great day." Pansy bid them goodbye as Ginny and Hermione exited the shop.

"So, Ginny. Would you care to explain how you befriended Pansy?" Hermione asked, not that she minded, she was just curious.

Ginny revealed that she had taken up a class all to do with clothes designing, which Pansy had taken part in too. They were chosen to work as partners by the teacher, and so had to endure each other every Tuesday s and Thursdays. They soon got used to it and started to enjoy their time with each other and soon became friends.

"I never knew you were interested in fashion designing." Hermione said.

"Well, I was. Sorry I never told you." Ginny said weakly.

"No worries. So, are you going to the party?" Hermione asked.

"No, can't, I have training. Harry's going on an assignment, so he can't attend either." Ginny said.

"Then why did she ask me? We're not really that close." Hermione said confused.

"I told her to ask you. Seeing as you would have nothing better to do." Ginny lied. She knew the real reason why Pansy invited Hermione to the ball, but she could never reveal that to her.

"That's very nice of you, Ginny. Anyways, I have to go. I forgot that I had made an appointment with my lawyer about the divorce." Hermione said, sadness filling in her eyes at the mention of the last word.

She hugged Ginny before making her way to the Ministry of Magic. She went to the counter of the Marriages and Divorces department and asked about her appointment.

"Oh yes! Miss Granger, I apologise for the inconvenience, but Mr Grayson will not be England for a few weeks as he had to leave on urgent family business. But he had informed me to tell you that he has put his best lawyer, other than himself of course, in charge of your case. Is that alright with you? The secretary asked.

"That's fine with me. Am I allowed to meet him today?" Hermione asked.

The receptionist checked by calling the lawyer to affirm Hermione's presence.

She disconnected the phone and looked at Hermione. "He says that you can come right in. His office is in Room 257." Hermione thanked the woman and started to make her way to the room.

She knocked on the door and waited for a voice to allow her in. And it did.

She couldn't help but think that she had heard that voice somewhere before. But before she could think on it further, she looked up to see the platinum blonde hair of none other than Draco Malfoy.


	6. Blame

Tuesday 5pm

Draco looked up to see who was at the door and stumbled over, falling on the floor.

Hermione ran to him with a worried expression on her face.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked.

Draco got up and straightened himself out, sitting back on his chair.

"Sorry about that." Draco smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's alright." Hermione smiled.

"So, what brings you here?" he asked.

"Well, Mr. Grayson, my lawyer is away on business so he said that you would do this case for me." Hermione stated.

"Oh, that's you!" Draco said, coming to realisation. "Okay, let's get started. What's the reason that you want divorce?" he asked, though he knew already.

"Ron cheated on me with Lavender." Hermione said quietly.

"I see. Had he been acting strangely, rather distant to you before that incident?" he asked, writing notes down on his notepad.

"Yes, he had, but like an idiot, I ignored it, thinking that he was just busy with work." Hermione said angry with herself. "How could I have been so stupid? Thinking that he loved me all this time." Hermione wept, unable to contain her tears anymore.

He went to her and pulled up her chin so that she was looking at him. "Hey, listen to me. It's not your fault, okay. You loved him a lot, I can see that. Hell, anybody could see that, yet he couldn't. That's his fault. He doesn't know what a beautiful, intelligent woman you are. If he did, then he would never have done such a thing to you. Just...don't blame yourself for something you haven't done." Draco assured her. Hermione nodded slowly, still teary eyes. Draco reached for her cheeks and wiped her tears with his thumb gently. He looked at her.

She looked at him surprised. He really had changed for the better. She smiled at him.

He went back to his chair and wrote down more notes, while Hermione waited for him to finish.

He looked back up. "Hermione, are you sure you want this divorce?" he asked.

"Yes, I can't go back to him after what he's done. We've been married for ten years! Who knows how long he's had that affair with Lavender!" Hermione exclaimed. Draco sighed, understanding what she meant.

"Alright. The divorce papers will be ready soon; I will mail them to you as soon as possible as well as to Weasel-bee." He informed.

Hermione chuckled, receiving a confused expression from Draco.

"What?" he asked baffled.

"Nothing. It's just the fact that you still cal him Weasel-bee." She smiled.

"Why wouldn't I? He'll always be a weasel to me." He said, making Hermione giggled again. He smiled back.

"I guess I should go. Thank you, Draco." Hermione gave him an endearing smile before exiting his office.

That was when Draco remembered that he had to ask her to the Masquerade! He mentally slapped himself for not having said anything. He needed to find another chance quickly. He only had 3 nights and 4 days before the party was due.

For now, he needed to get through the paperwork for Hermione's divorce. He got to work straight away.

Hermione went back to the Burrow, only to be unfortunately met by Ronald Weasley. Just what she needed. She was not in the mood for this.

"Hermione, I want to talk to you." Ron said.

"Well, Ronald, I don't." Hermione said sternly and headed for the stairs.

"Hermione, please, just hear me out." he reached for her arm and pulled her.

Hermione was turned around harshly. Her palm made contact with his face.

"What is there to hear about, Ron? Huh?! You cheated on me, Ron! For Merlin knows how long! And you expect me to just let it go and forgive you, because you've only just realised your mistake? No. I can't. I won't. If you were unhappy with the marriage, you could've told me! Having an affair with a married woman was the wrong thing to do! How could you even think that it was alright to do so?" Hermione asked rhetorically in rage.

"Hermione, I know. I know now, I should have done such a thing to you, and I'm sorry! Please Hermione, it was a mistake!" Ron cried pleading.

"Did you love me, Ron?" she asked quietly.

"What?" he asked, looking at anywhere but her.

"Did you love me? Yes or no?" she asked, louder this time.

"O-Of course I did! A-And I still d-do!" Ron exclaimed pathetically, not making eye contact. That was all Hermione needed to know.

"You're lying!" she cried. Then, another question popped up in her mind. "W-why did you even marry me, Ron?" she asked in the verge of tears. His silence gave everything away. He didn't want to marry her. He never did.

Hermione took his hands off her arm and ran upstairs, her tears running freely down her cheeks. It was all a sham. He never loved her.

Just as Ron was about to run after her, Harry stepped in front of him, halting him in his tracks.

"I don't think that's a good idea, mate." Harry said. He led Ron to the door. "You shouldn't have married her Ron. If you didn't even love her, then why did you marry her?" Harry asked.

"Because of mum! She kept on pressurizing me! That Hermione was the right girl for me, and Lavender wasn't!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe he was blaming his own mother for all that's happened to him.

"How dare you, Ronald Bilius Weasley! How dare you blame mum for all your mistakes?! She would never pressurize you to do anything! Even if she had, you could've stood up to her and told her that you didn't love Hermione but Lavender and that you wanted to marry her!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I tried! It didn't work! She wouldn't listen to me!" Ron reasoned pathetically.

"She's your mother, Ron! Why wouldn't she listen to you?" Ginny questioned.

"Because she doesn't love me like she loves you! And George, and Percy, and Charlie, and Bill!" Ginny's palm made contact with Ron's already reddened cheek.

"She loves you just as much as she loves all of us. Don't you dare even think for one second that she never cared for you!" Ginny shouted at him. She had had enough now. "You know what? Just get out. Right now. I don't want to see your face again in this house. How could have such cheap thinking?" Ginny pushed her elder brother out of the household and slammed the door on his face, hardly.

Harry opened his arms so that he could comfort his wife. Ginny ran to him and embraced him tightly. She wept quietly, while Harry just held her, stroking her hair softly.

"It's alright. It's alright." Harry assured her.

After such a hectic afternoon, Ron decided that he would just have to accept that he was not going to be allowed back into Hermione, Ginny and Harry's life.

He decided to wonder around Diagon Alley and entered a small cafe.

As he entered, he immediately heard whispers around him.

"How could he even think of doing that to Hermione?"

"It's good that she decided to divorce him."

"Yeah, he doesn't deserve her."

"He should be ashamed of himself."

"He thinks awfully big of himself, strutting about in here like he hasn't done anything wrong."

That's was the last end of the straw. He couldn't take it anymore. He immediately headed for the exit and apparated back to this apartment.

He couldn't believe how cruel people were being towards him! He hadn't known the bitch was married! She was the blame for this – Lavender. She told him that she loved him and him only, and that she would never get married to anyone besides him! What a lie! He decided that he was going to stay away from her and was going to try and fix his ways. He knows now how idiotic he had been. Hermione was his wife, more importantly his friend, and he just pushed her away. Now, he meant nothing to her.

He sighed in regret. They were right; he didn't deserve her.

Hermione had heard everything that occurred in her absence downstairs. She couldn't believe him – resorting to blaming his own mother for his faults! Mrs. Weasley would never do such a thing to him.

She looked at the mirror on the wall apposite her bed. She was a mess! Her eyeliner stained her cheeks. Her lipstick had been smudged across her face.

She wiped her tears off, merging the lipstick and eyeliner together.

She was stronger than this. She shouldn't be crying over someone who never even loved her in the first place. He had only played with her feelings all this time.

She got up from her bed and entered the bathroom. She washed her face until she was removed of her light make up. She wiped her face with the towel that hung on the radiator and exited the bathroom.

Hearing a knock on the door, she allowed the person in. She wasn't surprised to see that it was Ginny and Harry. They were here to comfort her, she knew it, but she refused to cry anymore. Ron wasn't worth it.

"We just came to see if you were alright." Harry said quietly.

"I'm fine, you guys." Ginny have Hermione a look of worry. "Seriously, I'm fine." Though, now that she heard it, she didn't seem to believe herself.

"We know how much you love Ron, Hermione. We would understand if you were to cry. He broke your heart." Ginny frowned

Hermione looked at Ginny and Harry. She just couldn't keep it in. She had to let it out. It wasn't good to keep things bottled up.

She broke down. Ginny and Harry quickly came to Hermione's side for support and led her to settle down on her bed.

They held her until she was out of tears, saying soothing words to her.

She cried herself to sleep that night. The Potter couple lied Hermione down on her bed and tucked her in. They each took turns to softly kiss Hermione on the cheek.

They departed and left to their room. They needed good rest too, after Ron had wreaked such havoc today.

Draco was quite surprised to find that Hermione was his client. Her mere presence made his heart beat rapidly, his smooth wording stuttering. He didn't quite understand how he could feel this way for a woman, especially one that he had hated for more than 17 years. This had never happened before.

Though, he thought to himself – Hermione is like any other woman he's dated in the past...right?

No, she wasn't. She was someone who could – would- never be his. She was too good for him. He was surprised that she had even forgiven him so quickly, unlike others who just assumed to know everything about him because of his father.

Sadie came just in time to see her dad sulking. She knew just what about – Ms. Hermione. She knew he thought about her all the time, but she also knew that he was too scared to approach her voluntarily.

There's only one thing she could do. All he needed was a little push to right direction, and then he'd be on his way to winning Ms. Hermione's heart.

Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't do it alone. She needed help. All the help she could get.

Her grandma had agreed to help her out, but she needed more people.

Then, it came to her. Uncle Blaise and Aunty Pansy. Surely they knew about her dad's infatuation for Hermione, and they would be willing to help her out.

She decided to go downstairs before her dad noticed her and picked up the telephone, dialling in the number to the Zabini residence.

"Hell?" a voice that sounded like Pansy answered.

"Hello, Aunty Pansy, I need your help. It's about dad."

"What happened?"

"He's sulking in his room about Ms. Hermione. I need your help in getting them together."

"Say no more, Sade; I already have just the thing." Pansy explained her plan to her niece and smirked at how brilliant it was.

"Okay, I got it. I'll see you at the party, Aunty Pansy. I'll tell grandma to make dad look extra good for Ms. Hermione. Okay, bye." Sadie said.

"Bye, sweeties." Sadie hung up the phone and smiled to herself. This plan was absolutely perfect. She was sure nothing would go wrong.

"Who was that, honey?" Narcissa asked, peeking her head from the kitchen.

"Oh, grandma! Me and Aunty Pansy just came up with the best plan ever to get daddy and Ms. Hermione together!" she squealed in delight.

"Shh! Your daddy will hear." Narcissa hushed, but smiled, seeing as how much effort her granddaughter was putting in to getting the two together. She was happy to help, of course. How could she refuse when it meant that her son could finally be happy?


	7. Masquerade

The week had gone by so fast; Hermione didn't even notice that this was the day of the Masquerade. She had been so caught up on Ron's betrayal and her dance lessons that she never had the time to think about it whatsoever.

She decided that she would worry about it after the dance lessons finished today.

She went to the dining table and was surprised to see the sudden appearance of Molly Weasley.

"Hermione! Good morning, my dear. Come on and settle down. I see you haven't been eating much. Look at you! Where's the meat in those bones?" she pointed out, lifting up Hermione's arm.

She was given a plate full of pancakes (her favourite), an omelette, some toast with butter smeared over the top, and a bowl of cereal. Though she couldn't eat the whole meal, she ate what she could just to make molly happy.

Surprisingly, though, she had successfully cleared the plate of its contents. She was probably hungry due to having not eaten last night. She smiled at molly and bid her goodbye, otherwise she would be late for her dance class.

She had plugged in her headphones and was listening to her playlist on her way to the academy. She was so indulged in her phone that when she reached for the door handle, she felt another hand rest on top of her own. It was only then that she looked up. She stared up at the steely grey orbs that belonged to Draco Malfoy.

He didn't want to break away from her eyes. They were the perfect shade of brown. It was dark with a hint of light. Her hair shone in the bright sun, making it look golden. He could just stare at her all day, but that was when Hermione chose to break their eye contact. Draco couldn't see her eyes.

She had felt that tingling sensation when her hand made contact with his. She got this warm, fuzzy feeling inside, and she didn't know why. She dismissed it, believing it to be the hot weather affecting her. She pulled her hand away after realising that it was still touching Draco's. Draco pulled away too, allowing her to open the door.

She pulled the door open and held it open for Sadie and Draco to enter. The three of them entered the classroom, one after the other.

Hermione went to the bench and set her things down, collecting a CD from her bag. She went to the front of the classroom, reminding the students that they will be doing street dancing today.

Draco hadn't noticed her attire until then. She was wearing tracksuit bottoms and a plain black t-shirt. She had her hair tied back, with a butterfly clip pinned to the side. Even in those clothes, he couldn't help but think that she was beautiful.

She showed the first step to the young boys and girls. She leant slightly to the side, her right leg out in front of her left diagonally, with her arms stretched out behind her. She did the step again, this time with her left leg. She asked the children to follow the step. They did this with less than no difficulty.

Draco headed for the door with his back to it. His attention on Hermione the entire time, he backed out of the classroom, his eyes never leaving her. Due to his attention being on Hermione, and Hermione only, he tripped over his own shoes and fell backwards, pushing the door of the classroom open with his fall. He was now on his back, his body preventing the door to close back.

Hermione heard the thud and rushed to Draco's aid. She helped him stand up and led him back inside the class.

"Are you alright?" she asked, slightly worried.

"Is seeing two Hermiones a normal thing?" he asked, his head spinning.

"No, no it's not." She chuckled. "You seem to be falling a lot lately, resulting in me in helping you." She stated, still giggling. Her laughter was like music to his ears. He liked it when she smiled. He wished she knew why he was falling over so much. Her presence tends to do that to him.

"Uh, yeah, I don't know what's wrong with me sometimes. I guess I have a lot on my mind." He knew that was a stupid reason, but he could really think straight when she was around.

He then remembered that he had the divorce papers with him and reached inside his pocket and pulled it out for her.

"Ur...these are the uh divorce papers..." he said. Hermione's laughing died, replacing it with a frown. He didn't like seeing her like this. "You know, you don't have to do this, Hermione. Maybe you should think on it more. Just don't act so hastily." He assured her.

"I do need to do this. You don't understand, Draco. H-he never loved me. He said that molly had influenced him to get married with me, but I don't for one minute believe this, for I know Molly, and I know for sure that she would never think on doing such a thing. She would never force him to marry someone that he doesn't love. Molly isn't like that. Why...why would he say something like that?" she questioned more to herself than Draco.

"Because he does not want the blame on himself, though he knows deep down that what he did to you was wrong. He will realise this Hermione, but this depends if you will be willing to forgive him when he does." He said.

Hermione just nodded, not knowing how to respond to that. But, will she be willing to forgive him? When he realises that what he did was wrong? Could she do that? After all that he'd said yesterday? She had no answer to this right now.

There's one thing she confused about right now, though. She didn't understand why she was telling this to Draco. At Hogwarts, they had been nothing but enemies, throwing insult after another at each, neither wanting to give up. But now, they were actually having a conversation with each other, without being at each other's throats. Despite this, she decided that she liked talking to Draco, she liked this side of him very much, and she had to remember that he had been forced to act that way.

She looked up and saw him staring at her intensely. He looked away quickly, and blushed slightly.

This surprised her. Draco Malfoy, blushing? This was new. She decided to think on that later as she had a class to teach at the moment.

She excused herself and went to the front of the classroom, giving the youngsters a new step to follow.

Draco left the academy and decided to go for a little shopping. For the masquerade that was being held in the evening on this day.

He still hadn't asked her to the party because he was now pretty sure that she would reject the offer. He would just have to handle what Pansy offers to him. He sighed as he entered his favourite clothes shop.

Ginny heard the ring of her mobile phone and picked it up.

"Hello? Ginny? Just to let you know that Sadie is in with the plan too." Pansy informed.

"Okay. And I just got a call from my coach; he said that training is cancelled today, so I will be attending the party. The thing is, I don't have a dress and mask, can you lend me some?" Ginny asked.

"Sure. I will send them to you by owl. Is Hermione getting ready?" Pansy asked, eager to know.

Ginny glanced upstairs and then turned back. "Yeah, she is. I'm helping her out, just to make sure she doesn't mess it up." Ginny giggled. Pansy giggled from the other end.

"Arrggggghhhh!" Ginny heard from upstairs.

"What was that?" Pansy asked, slightly worried.

"It was Hermione. I'll talk to you later, Pans. Bye." Ginny hung up the phone and bolted upstairs to see what the commotion was about.

"What happened? Is everything alright?" Ginny asked.

"What are those things doing here?" Hermione pointed at the heels scattered on the floor.

Was that all? A pair of heels? Ginny laughed.

"Hermione, those are for you. Pansy put them in along with the dress. Come on, you have to wear them. They will look so good with the dress!" Ginny beamed. She picked up the heels, setting them down next to the wardrobe; she gestured Hermione to sit down. Hermione obliged.

"Now, let's get you ready, shall we?" Ginny commenced fixing the monstrosity Hermione called hair and sprayed some Sleak Easy hairspray. Hermione's hair immediately started to tame itself. Ginny then curled the hair into small ringlets.

She took the butterfly clip and pinned it at the back.

"Hermione, go put on the dress." Ginny ordered.

Hermione went to the bathroom and put on the white dress. She looked in the mirror once and saw how perfectly it fitted her. She stepped out of the bathroom and seated back down on the chair, so that Ginny could put on her makeup.

She added a little blush and some eye shadow, with a hint of glitter. Ginny grabbed the peach lip gloss and applied it to Hermione's lips.

She was done. Ginny couldn't wait to see Hermione's reaction to her artwork.

"Hermione, you can open your eyes now." Ginny told her.

Hermione lifted her eyes open and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Ginny, thank you so much!" Hermione engulfed the red headed friend tightly.

"Too. Tight." Ginny managed to choke out on Hermione's iron grip. Hermione quickly let go. She smiled.

"Now, I should start getting myself ready, too." Ginny ushered Hermione out of the room, despite her many protests of wanting to help. "Hermione, it's alright. I can do this on my own. Just go to your room and wait for me to finish. I'll be there in an hour. Now go!" Ginny slammed the door in Hermione's sulking face and started to get dressed.

Hermione couldn't believe Ginny wouldn't let her help! The ginger helped her, so it was her turn to return the favour, but Ginny didn't allow her. Unbelievable!

"I mean, I'm not that bad, am I?" Hermione asked herself.

'Yes, you are. Don't you remember what happened when you were trying to get ready for the Yule Ball?" an annoying voice reminded her.

Oh...right. How could she forget that day? She was a disaster until Ginny decided to help the poor girl out. If it hadn't been for the red head, she would have never looked so beautiful.

Hermione sighed and waited impatiently for Ginny to finish.

"So, what do you think?" Ginny asked when she entered the room.

She was wearing a light blue gown, similarly designed like her own. She had put on matching eye shadow, showcasing her sea blue eyes.

She held a white mask in her hand with a light pink feather attached to it.

"You look amazing!" Hermione complemented as she stood up from the bed.

The two of them bid the Weasley couple goodbye and exited the household.

Tonight was going to be one night that will be remembered by Hermione dearly.

"Mother, it's straight!" Draco cried, slightly annoyed as his mother messed with his bow tie.

"Alright, Draco." Narcissa smirked. "Why are you so work up?" she sniggered.

"I'm not. I'm just slightly annoyed and wondering why you are so insistent on getting me ready for the Masquerade. Why are you acting so weird?" he asked, believing that she was hiding something from him.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Narcissa pursed her lips. "Where's Sadie? Is she ready?" she asked so that he didn't get suspicious of her.

"I'm here, grandma." Sadie came down the last few steps in a light pink ball gown, holding up a blue mask with sequins bordering the edge. She also wore silky pink gloves up to her elbows.

"My little girl, you look so adorable!" Narcissa ran to her granddaughter, engulfing her in a big hug. She pulled away and pinched the little girl's cheek.

"Grandma!" Sadie whinged. She didn't like being called a little girl; she was anything but little.

"Oh, alright. Honestly, like father, like daughter. You know Draco was exactly like you when he was your age. He disliked being called little." Narcissa chuckled.

"Grandma, isn't the saying 'Like Father, Like Son'? Sadie asked.

"Yes, but in your case, it would be 'Like father, like daughter'." Narcissa reasoned. "Alright now, enough talking. Don't you two have a party to get to?" she asked.

"Yes, we do. Shall we, princess?" Draco lifted his daughter up in his arms; the two of them vanished into thin air.

They arrived at the party just in time, as they saw people entering the Zabini household.

Draco walked to the door, with Sadie still in his arms.

"Draco, you're here. I thought you chickened out." Blaise teased. He turned to Sadie. "How's my favourite niece?" Blaise asked.

"Hi, Uncle Blaise." Sadie greeted, beaming. She held out her arms, asking to be picked up. Blaise took his cue and took his niece into his arms.

He kissed her cheek. "You're looking very pretty tonight." He pointed out.

"Thank you, Uncle Blaise." She said, returning the kiss.

Draco entered the house and looked around; Pansy had gone all out, he noticed. The entire house was decorated with silk streamers. There were round tables, with a purple silk cloth covering it. Atop of the table were all foods you could imagine.

He spotted her talking to a girl in a light blue gown, with a white mask; a light pink feather attached to the side of it. She had red hair, which Draco immediately guessed belonged to Ginny Potter. He walked towards the pair, wondering whether Hermione was attending this party.

"Draco, you're here." Pansy smiled. She looked behind him to check if he had a date with him, and soon confirmed that he didn't. The smiled transformed to a sly smirk.

"So, where's your date?" she asked, knowing the answer already.

"Ur...she's..." he looked around nervously and spotted a beautiful woman in a white gown, coming down the stairs, in a black mask, intricate designs carved on it. "Right there." He pointed at the woman, having panicked.

Pansy and Ginny looked to where his finger was pointing at and saw Hermione. Their jaws dropped; he had asked Hermione out. They just watched in disbelief as Draco walked towards Hermione.

"Um...I'm very sorry about this, but can you help me out?" Draco asked desperately.

"Uh...sure, what is it?" she couldn't help but think that she had heard that voice before.

"You see those women over there." Hermione followed his finger and her eyes landed on Pansy and Ginny. "The one in the purple dress challenged me to find a date for this Masquerade, but I never got to ask the person because I was afraid to." He rambled on without knowing. "I'm sorry, I tend to ramble on when I'm nervous." He rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously.

"It's alright." She smiled. Why does that gesture look so familiar?

"So, yeah, if you could just be my date for tonight, that'll be great. It's only for a little while, I promise." Draco added quickly.

"Sure, why not." She agreed; she was curious to know about this girl he hadn't found the courage to ask to be his date for the party.

"Thank you, you're an absolute life saver." He thanked, relieved. Hermione just chuckled in response. He held out his hand which she took gladly. She had that tingling sensation again. That was weird. She shook her head, placing the thought aside.

The two walked to Ginny and Pansy, who still couldn't believe it that he, had managed to ask her to accompany him tonight.

"Pansy, Weaslette, this is my date. Are you happy now, Pansy? You see, I won the challenge. Now, you better keep your side of it – you do remember what you said, right?" he gave her a nervous, yet smug smirk. All Pansy could was nod, still unable to speak.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to dance." Draco led Hermione away to the dance floor.

Draco placed his left hand on Hermione's waist, and his other holding her left hand firmly. Hermione placed her right hand on Draco shoulder.

Neither had a clue as to who the other was.

"You said that you were too scared to ask this girl out – why?" she asked, curious to know.

"Because she had just gotten her divorce, and I was pretty sure she didn't want to get into another relationship, having just gotten out of one. Also, she's too good for me, I don't really deserve her, after how I treated her at school; I had insulted her a lot." He answered, though not really understanding why he was revealing all this to a stranger. He just felt like there was something familiar about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Hermione's breath got stuck in her throat. She had recently gotten a divorce; she had been insulted in school a lot – but that was by...Draco Malfoy.

It couldn't be him, no. She looked at the familiar platinum blonde hair and stormy grey eyes, through the mask, and his quite pale complexion. Also, the way he called Ginny, 'Weaslette'. This had to be him.

She was dancing with Malfoy. She couldn't believe she had noticed until this moment.

"Aunty Pansy, where's Ms. Hermione?" Sadie asked excitedly.

"She's...over t-there..." pansy pointed, still shocked. Sadie followed her finger, and saw that Hermione was dancing with none other than her dad. Her eyes widened. She then beamed excitedly.

"That means that our plan worked!" she grinned.

"Ur...actually, Draco had already asked her to be his date for tonight..." she corrected the young girl.

"But, then why hadn't daddy said anything? He never mentioned that he had a date. And shouldn't he have gone to pick Ms. Hermione up from her house?" Sadie enquired.

"He never came to pick her up at the Burrow...Hermione came with me..." Ginny said slowly.

"Then...that means..." pansy came to the realisation. "Draco never asked Hermione to the Masquerade! He lied, the smug prick!" she said, angered slightly.

"Wait. Does he even know that that's Hermione he's dancing with?" Ginny asked.

"Let's find out. Sadie, do you mind going to Draco?" Sadie nodded, and ran towards her dad, who was talking quite a lot about something.

"Daddy!" Sadie called to him.

Draco heard a little girl's voice, and turned to see his princess coming towards him. He knelt down to her level and smiled.

"What is it, princess? Do you need anything?" he asked.

Now, Hermione was sure that this was Draco Malfoy.

"No, I just came to ask-" she glanced towards Hermione. "-who is that, daddy?" Sadie asked innocently, hiding a very smug grin.

"Oh, this is..." Draco forgot that he hadn't asked her her name.

"The name is Hermione" she smiled, taking off her mask, revealing herself.

Draco eyes widened. It had been Hermione all that time! He couldn't believe it! Shoot! He had told her everything! He hoped to Merlin that she doesn't find out that it was her he was talking about.

"Ms. Hermione! Hello!" Sadie greeted happily.

"Hello, Sadie. How's it going? Are you having fun?" she asked.

"A lot." Sadie grinned.

"That's good." Hermione chuckled. Sadie had done her job, so she decided to leave the pair alone.

"Um...I think Aunty Pansy is calling me. I will see you later. Bye." Sadie rushed to her aunt and Ginny, who had confirmed that Draco had been completely oblivious that the person he had been dancing with, was Hermione.

The three watched the couple from where they were with curiosity. They wondered what they were talking about.

"Um...I-I um..." Draco stuttered. He couldn't even get a simple word out without stuttering.

"You never told me what that girl's name was, the one you liked." Hermione stated.

"It was um...it was..." he scurried away from Hermione immediately, leaving her very confused.

"Why did he just run away?" Pansy asked.

"I have no idea." Ginny replied as she watched Hermione come to them.

"Hi, guys." Hermione said.

"Hi, Hermione. Why did Draco just run away?" Pansy asked.

"I don't know. I just asked him about the girl he liked, who he had wanted to ask to the party, and he just ran away." Hermione answered.

"I see." They said together, understanding the situation now.

"I'll uh just go and check on Draco. Maybe he was just feeling ill." Pansy excused herself, heading towards the direction Draco had gone in.

"If he didn't want to answer the question, he should've just said, instead of running away. That was weird." Hermione said to herself.

"That's because that girl is you, Hermione." Ginny simply stated.

"What?" she said, making sure she heard it right.

"He likes you." Ginny told her.

Hermione blushed, though she was in disbelief that Draco liked her. She started to calculate, searching for any clues to confirm this. There were quite a few.

Him falling over so very often when she was around him. His blushing when she would talk to him. His stuttering when he tried to make conversation with her. His rubbing the back of his neck when he talked to her. All these things she had noticed, but dismissed, believing it to be unimportant.

She remembered the day of the Yule Ball, when she danced with him. When they had stopped dancing, her heart beating very rapidly; she had had the same tingling feeling when they touched.

She then realised that she too, had feelings for Draco; she just hadn't realised until tonight. She now realised why her and Ron never worked as a couple – because she only saw him as a brother, and a friend, nothing more. She just thought she loved him because she wanted to believe that Ron was the right one for herm especially after that kiss. Now, she knows that the kiss had only been a onetime thing.

"Ginny, I think I like him, too." Hermione said slowly.

"You do?" Ginny asked grinning. "Then, what are you doing here? Go!" Ginny pushed Hermione.

Hermione didn't waste another minute and rushed to find Draco.

She remembered going to the direction of the garden, and so decided to go there. He was there, talking to Pansy.

"Why did you run, Draco? You should've told her that you liked her." Pansy said.

"I know, but I just couldn't get myself to do so. I felt like I was going to get rejected, which I know is a stupid think to worry about. I don't know. I just...start to stutter when she's around; I couldn't get the words out." he sighed.

"You're in love, Draco. With Hermione." just as she was about to say something, she felt her phone vibrate. She checked her inbox and read, 'Hermione said she likes Draco! She is coming!' Pansy smiled. She was so happy.

"Look, just tell her, Draco. You never know until you try." With that she left him alone, going back to the party, seeing as she was the host.

That was when Hermione decided to make an appearance.

"Draco?" Hermione called. Draco looked up and saw Hermione's beautiful face.

"Hermione, who-what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was just trying to find you, to check if you were alright." Hermione said.

"I'm fine. Just needed some fresh air." Draco smiled. Okay, this was now or never. He had to say it eventually. "Hermione, I want to say something." He stood up from the bench and walked towards her. He took her hand in his and looked into her chocolate eyes.

"I like you, Hermione. A lot. I guess I have been since that day of the Yule Ball." he chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "There I said it."

"I like you too, Draco." Hermione blurted out. That surprised him. "I realise now that me and Ron were never meant to be. He was more like a brother to me, I guess. I think that deep down, somewhere in my heart, I had feelings for someone else, but I just hadn't thought it to be true, until tonight. I had feelings for you, Draco. Since that day of the ball. I guess I had just been dismissing it all this time, never once thinking that I would ever like you because of how you treated me at Hogwarts. But...now, I know for sure that I do like you." Hermione finished.

"Um...I...um..." Draco stuttered again.

"Really? After all that, you're still stuttering? Say some-"his lips crashed onto hers. She didn't protest, she kissed back, with a smile on her face. He pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss a little. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck as she deepened it further. They broke apart and just stayed in each other's embrace for a while.

"Aw!" two voices were heard behind the couple.

Hermione and Draco looked to who it was, and saw Pansy and Ginny, with Sadie, Blaise, Stella, and Orion.

They all had large grins on their faces. They had been waiting for so long for Draco to confess to Hermione that he liked her.

"You finally got the guts to say, mate!" Blaise called out.

"Took you long enough, daddy!" Draco's daughter shouted.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...wait. You knew all this time?" he asked.

"Of course I did, you couldn't have made it more obvious, daddy." Sadie replied.

Draco went slightly scarlet. He guessed that he was that obvious. He was usually very good at hiding his feelings, but with Hermione, it was different...somehow. He had never really met a woman like her; beautiful, intelligent, funny, fiery, and so much more.

Draco gave them a look that said that he wanted some privacy. They understood, and Ginny and Pansy ushered them to leave the couple alone.

"Alright, guess, let's leave the two love birds alone." Ginny smirked as she entered back into the household with the other ahead of her.

Draco looked back to Hermione. "Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked.

"Sure." Hermione smiled. Draco intertwined his fingers with hers as they walked along the pavement.

**AN: **_**Okay, I thought this chapter was going to be longer, but I guess it wasn't. Sorry guys! Really, very sorry! But I hope this is alright. Only the Epilogue to go now! ^_^ **_

**PS.**_** Also, if there are any spelling errors or grammar or punctuation errors, I apologise! I will get them fixed soon! **_


	8. Epilogue

Have you got everything, honey?" Hermione asked her daughter.

"Yes, mum, I have it all. But, I'll check again, cos you're going to make me check anyways." She said mischievously.

"Sadie..." her dad said in a warning tone.

"Alright, alright. Sorry, mum." Sadie apologised.

"It's fine, sweetie. It's just that you can never be too careful." Hermione said.

"Your mother's right, Sade, you can never be too careful." Her husband said with sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

"Draco!" Hermione smacked him on the arm lightly. Sadie and Draco burst out laughing, Hermione joining in after a few seconds.

The Hogwarts Express rang its bell, letting all the students know that it was time to leave.

Sadie gave her bag one last check, before putting it over her shoulder. She quickly hugged her mum and dad, finally turning to her little brother.

"Do you have to go?" he whined; he was going to miss his sister a lot.

"Yes, but I'll owl you every day." She assured. Scorpius gave her a beaming smile in return. He hugged her tightly, Sadie retuning it with a small smile.

"Hey, Sade, hurry up or you'll get left behind." A red head popped his head from one of the door on the Hogwarts Express.

"I'm coming, Hugo. Tell Rose to save a seat for me." Sadie informed him.

"She's already done that." He grinned. "Now, hurry up." Hugo popped his head back inside the train, and left for the compartment his enormous group of family and friends were in.

"Make sure you send letters every day, Sadie." Hermione said.

"Yes, I will." Sadie glanced at the train, which had whirred to life, slowly starting to move.

"And you better tell us everything that's going on at Hogwarts; don't miss anything out." Hermione warned having remembered what happened the year before.

Sadie glanced at the train; it had started to pick up pace. She had to get going or she was going to be left behind. "Alright, I have to go now. Bye!" she urgently bolted for one of the doors, which seemed so far to her.

"Stop the train!" she shouted, whilst running as quick as she could. "Stop the train!" she repeated, calling out just a bit louder.

Suddenly, a hand appeared out of the door that Sadie was trying to get to. She quickly rushed towards it, reaching for the hand.

The hand stretched out even more, revealing the face of her helper. Sadie shot daggers at the face. She didn't seem to want the help anymore.

"What do you think you're doing?" she snapped.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Helping you! Now, give me your hand." The person stretched even more.

"No thanks, Nott. I think I'll manage." Sadie said with hostility.

"Don't be so stupid, Granger, and just give me your hand." Charlie Nott insisted.

"It's Malfoy!" she shouted, though she had gotten used to it. "And no. Now, go away and call one of my friends." Sadie demanded.

"Fine, if you don't want my help, then I'll just go." He turned to go back inside the train, when he was stopped by Sadie.

"Okay! Okay, give me your hand." Sadie surrendered.

"What's the magic word?" he chimed.

"Don't push it, Nott!" she exclaimed, having become very tired of the running. He held out his hand again, and finally she was able to get a hold of it. He pulled her onto the train in one tug.

However, he had pulled her up so quick that she collided with him. Making sure she didn't stumble back, she grasped his t-shirt. His arms wrapped around her waist, quickly, before she fell back.

Surprised at their position, they jerked their heads to look at each other. Their eyes locked immediately, and they just gazed into each other's eyes, intensely, neither able to tear away.

"Oi, Nott! Get your filthy hands off of Sadie!" A voice shouted from behind them.

Charlie let go and cleared his throat, taking his cue to leave without any word.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Albus Potter asked, checking for any marks.

"No, he didn't." She said, still slightly dazed.

"Okay, let's go. Hugo, Stella, Orion, Rose and Fred are waiting for us." Albus pulled her towards the compartment, which was overflowing with the Potters and Zabinis.

"Well done, Tom. You've improved quite a lot since these past years." Hermione praised the now young adult, with a smile. Tom blushed and continued to dance with his partner.

"Don't give him all the praise. I deserve some too, don't I?" a voice cut in, arms snaking around her waist.

Hermione slapped his arm and pulled away from his embrace, though she wouldn't say she didn't like it.

"We'll see. But right now, you're supposed to help me, not being all romantic, Draco." Hermione scolded him. If he wasn't going to help, he should just take a seat.

"Oh, alright." He saw that all the students were looking at them. "What are you all looking at?" he growled, receiving another swat on his arm from Hermione again.

"Draco, stop it! If you're just going to be rude to my students, then you can gladly take a seat, or leave." Hermione warned him.

Draco immediately shut his mouth and assisted Hermione in demonstrating how to do the jive; one dance they had remembered quite clearly.

The students just watched them in awe; they didn't know how they could imitate all those twists and turns and steps as perfectly as Draco and Hermione.

Draco finished their dance by dropping Hermione abruptly, holding her by her hands, with her just a few inches off the ground.

The young adults applauded their outstanding performance, as Draco pulled Hermione back up slowly. Their hands stayed moulded with each other. They both bowed.

Hermione turned to Draco as they bowed.

"I said to show them a simple move, Draco." Hermione scolded him once again.

"Oh, come on, Hermione. I'm sure they can figure out how to follow those steps. Don't worry, they'll find no difficulty." He smirked, knowing that the steps were difficult for those beginner young adults to mimic.

"Alright, guys, I'm afraid that it's time to go." She heard many groans of protests.

"I know, I know, but you've had enough time with her. I'm her husband; I have the right to get some time alone with her. So, run along; you'll have Hermione to yourself next week." Draco said, sounding a little threatening.

Some of the women cooed, while the men just scowled at him. They all turned to leave, allowing the couple to be left alone.

Hermione grabbed her purse and started to walk to the door, completely ignoring Draco, who was following behind her.

"Hermione, wait!" she didn't stop; she continued to walk until she was outside. As soon as Draco exited the building, she locked the door securely, and then apparated on the spot without wasting another minute.

Draco followed behind yet again. He was slightly frustrated, that she was ignoring him like that.

When Hermione reached home, she smirked. She was definitely going to teach Draco a lesson.

She started to walk up ahead on the stairs, entering her and Draco's bedroom.

Draco reached home, searching for Hermione. He couldn't see her anywhere in the living room, kitchen, or in the conservatory.

"She went upstairs, Draco." Narcissa informed him. He didn't waste a minute and rushed upstairs to the bedroom. He was relieved to see her on the bed. She had her back to him.

"Hermione, why are you acting so weird?" he asked. She ignored him.

"Hermione, is this about me being rude to your students? If it is, then I apologise." Draco said. She still didn't respond. Frustrated by this, he walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder, jerking her towards him.

"For Merlin's sake, Hermione! lis- Arrggggghhhh!" he screeched. That was definitely not Hermione. This thing has pure white skin, its eyes were unblinking, and it seemed like it wasn't breathing. He tapped its shoulder and heard a hollow echo. It wasn't skin that was for sure; it felt more like...plastic!

He then suddenly heard laughter coming from outside their bedroom. He turned around and saw Hermione, Scorpius, and Narcissa, their eyes burning with laughter.

His fingers clenched, and he gritted his teeth. "Mother, Scorpius, would you kindly leave? I have some important things to talk to Hermione about." Narcissa and Scorpius took their leave, leaving Hermione alone with him. She entered the bedroom, that damn smirk still plastered on her face.

She closed the door behind her, and when she turned around, she was trapped by Draco. He had his hands pressed against the door, at the sides of Hermione's head. He smirked, leaning down to whisper into her ear.

"Shouldn't have done that, Granger. You know what happens when you pull pranks on me, don't you?" he breathed the hot air on her neck, making her have that tingling feeling. Her breath got ragged, though she still kept her smirk.

"Why don't you show me?" she challenged, whispering back just as seductively.

"Oh, well, aren't you just a naughty lioness?" he smirked. "Come here." He pulled her closer, as he pressed his lips upon hers.

They made love that night, only to break apart when they felt the need to breathe.

"I love you." He pressed his lips on her forehead gently. She embraced him even tighter, Draco responding back by tightening his hold of her.

"I love you, too." She smiled, her head resting on his bare chest.

**AN: **_**Well, this is all. I have finally completed this story! I feel so relieved, yet sad that it's over. But, I've still got a lot of work to do on Connection With A Mudblood, so I should get started with that. Anyways, I hope you liked this ending. Please tell me what you think of this. I would really love to know your opinion! I will be re-editing this story so that everything is perfect.**_


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